NYRA Settlement

[Bubbles]

http://espn.go.com/horse/news/2003/1210/1683163.html

[karlskorner]

It's what I call a Tom Sawyer (whitewashing), but what else could they do, take NYRA corporate to court and sink the 3 tracks. As I said weeks ago "the fox is still in the hen house". Appreciate they are allowing NYRA to police itself.

[PaceAdvantage]

And rightly so....this is EXACTLY what SHOULD be done....

Why would people want to throw the baby out with the bathwater...destroy NYRA because some clerks break the law, and some managers turn the other way....makes sense to kill the whole organization, right??? NOT!

Thank goodness calmer and more intelligent heads prevailed in this one....NYRA's been running a pretty good show for a VERY long time....they deserve to be treated with a bit more respect than some were willing to give this institution....

In any event, it will be very interesting to see who is named on Thursday to stand trial....

[andicap]

Originally posted by PaceAdvantage
And rightly so....this is EXACTLY what SHOULD be done....

Why would people want to throw the baby out with the bathwater...destroy NYRA because some clerks break the law, and some managers turn the other way....makes sense to kill the whole organization, right??? NOT!

Thank goodness calmer and more intelligent heads prevailed in this one....NYRA's been running a pretty good show for a VERY long time....they deserve to be treated with a bit more respect than some were willing to give this institution....

In any event, it will be very interesting to see who is named on Thursday to stand trial....

I agree with the settlement, but remind people that when Spitzer
first came out with the allegations, many people on this board
screamed "POLITICS" and defended NYRA without seeing any
of the evidence.

[PaceAdvantage]

Of course it was politics. Why should the entire organization be under indictment for the actions of TWO ex-managers and a handful of tellers??????????????? NYRA IS HUGE. Does it make sense to indict the entire organization over this petty crap? Absolutely not.

It's totally politics....luckily, NYRA apparently has more friends then enemies out there, or they would be dead in the water....

And luckily, the horsemen LIKE NYRA, as they should, despite what VetScratch says....read Bomze's quotes

[JustRalph]

I think maybe a little of both ? PA has some good points. But I can tell you this.......the settlement and the resulting comments in the Bloodhorse article read like something else. If you read between the lines, I think I know who is running the NYRA and it follows the character of most businesses in NY. Now don't start screaming at me for these comments but I know people very well who do business in NY city and surrounding Albany. I know who makes money off of every deal ever made in the city. when you read what went on, it reads that way to me. Back to 1980? That is a hell of a lot of money. The other thing that bothers me is this statement

"NYRA managers, prosecutors said, ignored widespread corruption among the ranks of its tellers. To date, 24 individuals have been charged with crimes in connection with various scams, including money laundering, tax fraud to tapping into their NYRA cash drawers to run lucrative loan-sharking operations. NYRA officials for years have known, prosecutors said, that tellers were shorting their cash boxes as part of scheme to avoid income taxes; prosecutors said the schemes resulted in $19 million in unreported income since 1980."

That sounds like one organization and one organization only. It is a damn shame that there are probably 90% good people working at the NYRA but when dollar signs like this pop up, it doesn't play well outside of NY where people are used to this kind of thing. And anybody who doesn't think politics had a role is hiding their head in the sand. Politics plays a role in everything. But in this case, it was a big role. They could have done this with a much lower profile. The fact that they are having press conferences and all the other associated crap is obvious. Politics and the future of Spitzer is involved too. Business as usual.

[brdman12]

One guy gets caught....on big headline.....much of it is politics. I've always thought what we read in the papers is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to crime. Like ALL businesses involved in gambling (as well as others) we can only imagine the games people play money. And we can try to imagine the scope of "not playing by the rules", and multiply by10....then we might be close. But like I say, its not just racing that has much corruption. Look around.

[VetScratch]

Nothing in the ESPN story contradicts the fact that NYRA will be indicted as a corporation, and federal prosecutors will keep the case in "deferred prosecution" status so long as NYRA satisfies external monitoring requirements. Together with millions in fines, a formal admission of guilt, and changes in board/management positions, this is not that much of a whitewash... more like going on probation and being scrutinized by the external monitors.

Horsemen everywhere are waiting for more news. The grapevine has it that a deal to restore the missing millions and ensure VLT subsidies from the outset is in the works. Otherwise, no VLTs because of liability considerations that have yet to be settled.

Personally, I think NYRA board members and senior managment should be required to wear "I am a thief" badges when they are on racetrack premises mingling with owners and trainers.

PA, Bomze has said horsemen must be paid in a manner that ensures NYRA can't even pay electricity bills until horsemen are paid. You puzzle me... who is reading the news to you?

[VetScratch]

About the tax evasion scandle...

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=198364&category=STATEOTHER&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=12/12/2003

Prosecutors said NYRA condoned the behavior because it bought labor harmony with Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents the clerks. The money essentially provided raises to union employees, Hruska said. He called the conduct "routine and egregious" and deeply rooted in NYRA's corporate culture.

Findings of the probe mirror those reported this spring by the state Racing and Wagering Board and that showed up in an audit of NYRA in 1995. In June, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer issued a scathing criticism of NYRA operations in a report that listed many of the misdeeds identified in the federal indictment.

At the time, NYRA Chairman Barry Schwartz called Spitzer's work a bungled witch hunt.

"NYRA had no evidence that any clerks were actually using the policy to commit fraud on their taxes," he said in June.

The federal indictment says that NYRA indeed did have such evidence. And in the deferred prosecution deal, NYRA admits to knowing.

Indeed, the deal requires that Schwartz and the rest of NYRA's leaders never contradict the findings of the probe, or the association could face prosecution on two charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States and aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns.

Should We Have Expected More From Barry? :):)

I think not... based on how he ran Calvin Klein.

Anyone who can convince millions that a name tag on a pair of jeans adds an $80 premium to their value probably thinks we will believe anything!

My washing machine is the world's best appraiser of jeans, and designer labels like Calvin Klein grade out the worst. Most have front pockets made from something flimsier than cheesecloth, often glued rather than stitched, and they are often tagged as "Made In <some remote child-labor sweatshop>."

Sorry, Mr Schwartz, but everyone who bought three pairs of good jeans at the Tractor Supply Store for the price that you charge for one pair at the Gap already had your number. Only the suckers were fooled, then and now.

:D :D :D :D

[PaceAdvantage]

Hehehe

[Observer]

Originally posted by VetScratch
... for the price that you charge for one pair at the Gap ...

The Gap doesn't sell Calvin Klein .. don't think they ever did.
:p

[VetScratch]

I am not surprised... neither would I! :)